jail with their parents. because nepal is so poor, the kids of jailed parents have to live with them behind bars. here's what she told us inspired her decision to help these kids. >> i was starting my social work, i got a chance to visit the jail and when i visited the jail first time i felt that how fortunate i am that my parents are working so hard, just for me to get a good education. but there are some other children, just because of their parents, the children are also suffering. so i thought that i should do something. >> fantastic. one word. "cnn newsroom" continues now with the lovely and talented brooke baldwin. >> ashleigh banfield, thank you so much. i'm brooke baldwin. top of the hour, a lot of news to get to on this monday. first, of course, talks over the fiscal cliff. they are going nowhere fast. democrats, they're basically telling republicans, hey, ball's in your court. we'll take you live to the white

house for that. also, as the city grieves over an nfl player's tragic breaking point, new debates today about gun control and domestic violence. you'll hear both. but first, the u.s. has long believed syria has a huge stockpile of chemical weapons. now new concerns that chemical arsenal is on the move. secretary of state hillary clinton today issuing another stern warning against syria, using these weapons. the syrian foreign ministry quick to respond here saying it would not use chemical weapons against its people if it had any, but this announcement as turkey is sending warplanes to its border with syria after the syrian military bombed a nearby town of ras al-ain. you can hear that and see the smoke. this is the turkish side of the border. this is fueling more fears that more of syria's violence will spill into its neighbor to the north, being turkey.

security concerns are prompting the u.n. to announce it is pulling nonessential personnel out of syria. want to bring in fran townsend, our cnn national security contributor and member of the cia external advisory committee. and, fran, good to see you. let's talk about these chemical weapons because we know that in the past, what, three, three have been, i guess, two, two different times the u.s. has seen syria move its chemical weapons around. but intelligence suggests this time the movement is different. how so? >> well, there was an american official speaking on background, obviously, to a new york times reporter who didn't describe this as movement of the chemical weapons. what makes it different this time was it was described as the syrians taking steps in preparation for use. that's far more serious and far more concerning to american and regional officials if syria is undertaking activity that looks like the preparation for the deployment of these chemical

weapons. remember, you mentioned, brooke, turkey. also jordan. we have -- there are regional allies and neighbors there who would be directly threatened. and, of course, the syrian foreign minister, while not acknowledging that syria has chemical weapons, we know that to be a fact, said they wouldn't use -- syria wouldn't use it against its own people. it did not rule out using it against its regional neighbors. the secretary of state clinton made quite clear that this would be crossing a red line for the united states. >> you know, i was reading an article, fran, daily beast this morning talking about they called it al qaeda 3.0. and they point out that the long they are bloody civil war continues in syria, you know, the more the group benefits. you have sectarian polarization, they're hoping syria's neighbors, it does spill into these other countries. but i thought it was interesting that this group is not openly associating itself with the brand name al qaeda, instead using a cover name. why is that? >> you know, look, the

association, we have long seen affiliates of al qaeda believe historically that announcing themselves as being affiliates was a good thing, right? they got a benefit in terms of recruiting. and raising financial resources. but, of course, with the affiliation of al qaeda comes the detriment of the united states has been very public in its targeting of al qaeda ass assets, its willingness to use things like unmanned aerial drones and so there is a drawback if you're an affiliate of al qaeda that we may bring all our power to bear in terms of legitimate targeting your personnel and assets. so you've got to believe that in some respects, they understand -- these affiliates understand this, they're in a virtual war zone, there is certainly a civil war in syria, and so you could understand why the al qaeda affiliate in syria might not want to directly associate itself with al qaeda. >> fastest growing group within al qaeda in syria. fran townsend, thank you so

much. and i want to stay with syria here because opposition groups say at least 59 people have been killed inside this country, this is today alone. and aleppo still a major front in the conflict. troops are advancing for first time into an islamist held stronghold in northern aleppo. and as our senior international correspondent arwa damon explains, the city's combat zones are expanding each and every day. >> reporter: they are home again, but they are cold and broke and still in danger. about a third of the families who fled the neighborhood of aleppo have come back. only to find out that these streets are now on the front line lines. if the regime can retake the city, it can cut off the main artery for opposition forces in aleppo and reopen a route to the airport. on a nearby hill top, the

neighborhood, the rebels used to control that as well, but lost it a month ago. the battle lines here are constantly fluid. and snipers are a constant threat. the front line is visible just through here. and we can barely make out three bodies. the rebel fighters are telling us that there are two male and one female. there were five. they managed to extract two, but they can't reach the others. for the children here, gunfire has become background noise. this 12-year-old hardly notices. she says she's not afraid anymore. to start with, little hala is also chatty. but then gets scared. her father says she thought the rebel fighters with us were assad's forces. despite his efforts to reassure

her, she is still anxious. and with reason. sala was shot in the arm at a checkpoint. bullet was going to hit my daughter, he tells us. but i had just put my arm around her. she, just 4 years old, blinks hard, yes. she ended up drenched in her father's blood. as gunfire rings out again, her father takes away the bullet casings she's collected. nearby, a woman who doesn't want to be filmed takes me aside. sometimes i want to die rather than live like this, she whispers. arwa damon, cnn, aleppo. an infant left without her parents after an nfl player just snapped. now as the city mourns, sportscaster bob costas goes off on gun control. i'm brooke baldwin.

the news is now. an entire town evacuated after a shocking discovery involving explosives. plus, he's on the run. but john mcafee talks to cnn after martin savidge goes on this bizarre adventure to reach him. and joining me live, the ceo of ford, on what he told president obama behind closed doors about the fiscal cliff. n 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer power? [ laughing ] [ stops laughing ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. this holiday season, trade up to get the 2012 chevy silverado all-star edition for 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $2,000 cash allowance or get a total value of $9,000.

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what's your policy? here we go. count them with me. 29 days until the one-two punch of tax increases and blunt force federal spending cuts and just within this past hour, we heard the white house tell the republicans over in congress, hey, if you don't like our plan out of this mess, give us a plan of your own and make sure it raises taxes on the wealthy. meantime, the president is supposed to be on twitter, right now, answering questions about this whole thing. so let's go straight to the white house, to our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. clock is ticking down.

29 days to go. how long is the white house willing to wait to hear from speaker boehner, you know, mitch mcconnell, for their sort of volley back? >> reporter: hi, brooke. well, they're saying ready anytime. the clock is ticking and it's ball's in the republicans' court. here is what jay carney had to say a few minutes ago. listen to this. >> making vague promises about achieving revenue through capping deductions or closing loopholes, simply doesn't add up to a serious proposal. we haven't heard which deductions they would cap or which loopholes they would close. >> so that's the white house's position. now, they are waiting to hear about what the republicans would do, what kind of detailed proposal they would offer. the republicans, brooke, for their part are insistent they want to hear about the president's willingness to do

entitlements. how much more they would do to cut spending and whether the white house would be willing to scale back on some of those extra spending measures, more dollars the president wants the government to put out next year, that were in some of secretary geithner's proposal last week, brooke. >> let's go back over that so everyone is on the same page, we had treasury secretary tim geithner went over the hill last thursday and delivered the white house proposal there. once again, just run through that proposal for me, jessica. >> so the headlines are they would like to see $1.6 trillion in tax increases both in the form of higher rates and some closing of loopholes, limiting deductions. $600 billion in cuts both in the form of cuts to entitlements, and other, like, medicare. and then some limiting of farm subsidies. and then $50 billion in additional stimulus spending, and some other measures. those are some of the -- just the big highlights, brooke.

and i would add that secretary gheit meeithner made clear over weekend that the tax increases they would like to see would be a return to the clinton era rates for the top 2%. and some of this, you know, is what he laid out with the president laid out after the debt deal last year. so it is a proposal that is familiar from the white house, not something fresh and new. so the white house says, you know, the republicans shouldn't be shocked. republicans are saying we're shocked because it's not a compromise. they were expecting something different and more -- more -- more of an outreach and they say it didn't do enough to win them over. >> as you point out, the ball is in their court. we'll see how and when they respond. jessica yellin, thank you. keep us posted on the president's tweeting today as well. and i don't know if you caught this, let me just show you the reaction here from house speaker john boehner because this was his reaction to the plan that jessica just ran us through, the

white house's plan here speaker boehner got the plan thursday from treasury secretary tim geithner. here he was. >> flabbergasted. you can't be serious. i've just never seen anything like it. >> flabbergasted, he says. 29 days until this automatic tax increase, until the federal spending cuts that, you know, kick into place that can plunge the economy back into recession. and you have the house speaker saying this white house proposal, the one he received just a matter of days ago, isn't even serious. gloria borger, our chief political analyst, let me bring you in here. one of the questions is does it seem to you that the president feels as though he has some leverage here? he won the election, right? >> he did. >> maybe that accounts for what's in his proposal. >> yeah. this is clearly a different president obama than the one we saw during the debt ceiling negotiations or even after the midterm elections in 2010 when

he felt a little weakened and there was the extension of those bush tax cuts for the wealthy. so i think when you're seeing here is a president who put this on the table, trying to please his base, okay? which got him elected after all. saying, this is my wish list, this is in a perfect world, this is what i would do. i don't think anyone at the white house expected the republicans to say, oh, thank you mr. president, yes, this looks lovely. let's go on and work on a deal. no, that's not what it was. the white house -- this is alfonse gaston a little bit here. and so they're waiting for the republican response. and what they're really talking about, brooke, is getting some kind of a first step. a down payment. ironically they all know what -- in the big picture needs to be done. they know you have to fix entitlements, do something on the tax side, but they're trying to figure out how to get from here to there. >> and let's just stop there, because let's say the white

house now presented a here. how long do we have to wait for the republicans to come forward with the there? >> well, i think what we're going to end up with probably is a smaller here that gets us to something that they're going to need to work on in the next year. i mean, and the question is, what the president is saying is, look, in order to get us over this hump, you've got to show me that you're willing to raise taxes on the wealthiest 2% of americans. and republicans are saying, you know what, you've got to show us a little leg on the entitlement side, okay? because otherwise unless you're serious about reforming medicare, we're not even going to be able to get to the second stage. so they're just kind of stuck. the question that i have is would the president accept anhing less than a rate increase to where it was in the clinton years, for example? would he compromise on that for the wealthy? >> currently at, like, what,

35%? why not call it 37%? >> right, okay, fine. call it 37%. but would his base get too upset about that and would he care? which i don't really know the answer to at this point. i think, you know, nobody expects to reform the tax code before christmas. they all understand they have to do that in the new year. but they do have to -- they do -- >> do something to get over the hump and then talking about some sort of reiteration of this come january 1. >> nobody wants to raise taxes on the middle class. and there the president has a lot of leverage because that has to get done. >> gloria borger -- >> make sure their taxes don't go up. >> thank you very much. we'll keep the conversation going, probably until the end of the year. meanwhile, look at this, a highway tunnel comes crashing down while cars are inside. then igniting a fire. now you have mandatory inspections, they're ordered on dozens of other tunnels.

the latest on this investigation next. riprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

got an update for you now on friday's train derailment and chemical spill in new jersey. operations to clean up the spill

have been temporarily halted and workers and people living in paulsboro have been told to stay inside, keep your windows shut. the reason for the warning, monitors picked up high levels of this toxin called vinyl chloride. in fact, schools in the area are still closed as well. tunnels across japan are undergoing emergency inspection today. all after this tunnel just about 50 miles west of tokyo caved in yesterday, killing nine people. five of the bodies were recovered and one charred station wagon. drivers described what they saw and heard. >> translator: cars in front of us were crushed. it was terrifying. i don't think i could drive through the tunnel again. >> an official with the private company that operates this particular tunnel said outdated bolts or concrete slabs could be to blame. the pakistani school girl who was shot in her head by the taliban is now expressing her gratitude to the people all

around the world who have supported her here. in a message read by anderson cooper at the cnn heroes ceremony, just last night, malala thanks people for the outpouring of love and support. she's continuing to recover at a hospital in britain. the push for conversation and not gun violence after the tragic deaths of the nfl player and his girlfriend in this murder/suicide. my next guest calls for sweeping changes in the definition of manhood has a message for husbands, fathers, boys out there today. it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality.

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that is ginormous. he was the mvp of the nba finals. won an olympic gold medal with the u.s. team and, oh, yeah, he won his third nba season mvp. yes, it's been a big year for lebron james. and a profitable year for big business. but workers' wages are headed in the other direction. let's go to new york to cnn's maribel aber with more on that. we're talking about record profits here, right? >> we are. let's break this down. corporate profits are stronger than ever. companies took in $2 trillion after taxes last quarter. so that's news for any employee that they really want to hear that, you would think it would translate into higher paying or more jobs. but that's not happening. take a look at the chart. it is a different way of examining this. on the left side of the screen, it shows corporate profits as a percentage of gdp. last quarter, profits made up 11% of the economy. and that number has been rising over the past decade. now, on the right side, you see wages as a percentage of gdp.

that number has been falling. and last quarter, it hit a record low. now, brooke. part of this is because some higher paying jobs have gone overseas. and it is also because the labor market hasn't bounced back from the recession like other parts of the economy have, take for instance housing. brooke? >> those graphs really tell the story clearly. and i want to ask you about something else, maribel, while i have you. we're used to hearing about trouble when it comes to your traditional newspapers, sadly. but now we're hearing about an online paper that targeted the cutting edge tablet user crowd, that's going away. tell me about that? >> that's right, brooke. it seems digital road is apparently not paved in gold. news corp. is folding the daily. it made a big splash last year when unveiled because it was only for the ipad. this is ironic because in this day and age you think traditional newspapers are going under because of the surge in digital readers. but going straight to tablets apparently isn't easy. yes, that market is growing.

but here's the thing. these are expensive ventures. and there aren't enough readers to end up paying the bills. news corp. put up $30 million and 100 staffers to get the daily going. it is another $26 million a year to keep the publication going. but the daily couldn't find a big audience. >> maribel aber, thank you very much. now to this, carmelo anthony, derek jeter, michael jordan, sport stars not only known for their skills but also for their shoes. dwayne edwards helped design all their sneakers when he worked as a designer for nike. and now he's giving others a chance to do the exact same thing. cnn's george howell has more. ♪ >> reporter: this is a snapshot of some of the products i've designed over the course of my career. this is the air jordan 21. working at nike, dwayne edwards designed the signature sneaker

lines of superstar athletes. carmelo anthony, derek jeter, and his childhood idol, michael jordan. but after 11 years at nike, edwards walked away. >> the industry is close to a $50 billion industry in the u.s. alone. and there is probably a good 3,000 to 4,000 footwear designers in this industry. but people of color are underrepresented. >> reporter: so what you'recome exposure, people knowing about the industry, and also knowing where to go, how to maneuver your way into positions like you had. >> most definitely. if you're asked to do something, you have to do it. >> reporter: that's when this father of two decided to puool his own resources to open a footwear design school. >> i know we're at the mall purchasing a product, we have to be designing the product as well. >> reporter: hencele footwear design academy opened in portland in 2010. for grads like precious hannah

it helped her secure a job at nike. >> when they taught me you don't need a computer to draw shoes, here is a pencil, some paper, take it, do what you do. >> reporter: from women to minorities, dwayne edwards is inspiring a new diverse wave of shoe designers. >> designing a product that goes into a store, that's going to come and go. but impacting a life is generational. >> reporter: all because he chose to leave a lucrative career behind him to teach others how to follow in his footsteps. george howell, cnn, portland, oregon. >> talk about a dream job. george, thank you. cnn's soledad o'brien examines the provocative questions about skin color, discrimination and race. we're calling it "who is black in america." the documentary. it premieres sunday december 9th at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. hey big guy,

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the entire town of doyly, louisiana, has been evacuated. this is actually a town where a must be of the scenes from the hit hbo show "true blood" have been filmed. so this massi ivive amount of explosive was found improperly stored, i'm talking about 6 million pounds of gunpowder. chad myers, talk to me here. why do they have this much gunpowder in one little place? >> we simply don't know. we don't. the number was supposed to be 1 million. and then this is the place where a couple of months go they had the explosion, one of the magazines exploded, the starnlg ar storage area. they were going to inspect it, they said where is all this coming from, all this stuff. there is 6 million pounds now that has to be moved, packed very nicely, put in tractor trailers and moved some place

much better thanthat. >> look at all this. >> outside on a pallet with cardboard boxes. >> how, pray tell, do you begin this, i imagine, quite precarious process of packing this stuff up, as you mentioned neatly and slowly and holding your breath and getting it out there? >> all i can see is wiley coyote in this action box. you don't want to be moving this around with tractor trailers and forklifts. you have to check because some of these boxes are leaking too. >> incredible. >> a complete disregard for the people there, and the workers at this building. that's what the ntsb people there are saying about the -- they're saying about what they're seeing here, how these are just packed outside and not where they're supposed to be. >> okay. not a job i would want. >> no. >> we wish them well doing this. chad myers, thank you so much. you probably heard the news, big news across the pond today, the excitement, you know what i'm talking about. excitement grows as word has

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there is an awful lot of speculation today about why, why a pro football player killed his

girlfriend and then shot himself. before saturday's murder/suicide, probably most of you didn't know who jovan belcher was, let alone he had a 3-month-old baby girl with his 22-year-old girl kasandra perkins. today we are learning a little bit more about this couple, but really so far little is known about what prompted the violence. kevin powell, i want to bring you into this conversation, you wrote this -- this column, this op-ed piece for cnn.com/opinion. you call it manhood, football and suicide. first, just welcome to you. i want to play a little sound and we'll talk about your piece, but i just want you to hear and our viewers to hear what one of belcher's teammates said and we'll talk about, you know, some of the athletes you've counseled. listen to this. >> sometimes you got to go out there, let your emotion and frustration out on the field. that's what we did as a team today. still, once again, we lost a teammate. and we lost a friend. >> kevin, you're not just an author and activist, you write

in your piece how you've counseled some professional athletes and some entertainers, privately, and you -- to quote you, they have been grappling with very warped definitions of manhood. what do they tell you is their biggest fear and how do you help them? >> you know, part of it is the lack of -- being able to express ourselves, thinking because we have been raised in a society that men have to be hard and tough, that's the only way to conduct themselves and we don't talk about things other than sports and sex. i also need to say that this is a case of domestic violence. we need to say kasandra perkins name loud and clear because this is a -- >> over and over. >> over and over again because she was murdered and then the suicide happened. i've gotten so many hits on cnn.com and to my twitter and e-mail pages about this. and i think really once again this is a call for how we define manhood and issues of mental health in our society. it comes up again and again.

in the counseling work, oftentimes many men have not had a role model or in a distant way with an agent or a coach, i think it is critical that professional sports leagues think about the kind of people we put around these young males and that there is real consistent counseling, counseling is available. let people know there is nothing wrong with getting therapy, nothing wrong with it at all. >> i sit here and wond, i can think of a number of men who seem like impressive role models to youngsters, i'm sure yourself included, and there is no dearth of role models out there, but this lack of expressionism, what would you say to young boys, to fathers, to men right now, to change that? >> well, what was said to me in e-mails today, i want to create a space for my sons, these are fathers, where they understand they can express themselves if they're hurting, feel pain, if there is any kind of emotional issues, if they don't like sports, nothing wrong with that as a boy. if they like the art, techies,

it is okay to be a geek, quote/unquote, but we create this male prison where if you're not a certain type of way, we use language that is derogatory, use homophobic language, and that's part of the issue. i've seen this happen over and over again. and this is a great tragedy as you said at the top, the 3-year-old girl is left without both parents now. >> that's the person i keep thinking about when i read this story. you talk about domestic violence also, you have to talk about gun violence and i want your opinion here on what bob costas said during halftime, in case others have missed it, here is what he said and we'll talk on the other side. >> okay. >> handguns do not enhance our safety. they exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it. in the coming days, jovan belcher's actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed. who knows, but here, wrote jason whitlock, is what i believe, if jovan belcher didn't possess a

gun, he and kasandra perkins would both be alive today. >> now, kevin, a lot of people could say jovan belcher could have killed his girlfriend without guns, he's listed, you go to the kansas city chiefs website, 6'2", 228. what is your take on what bob costas, very impressive sportscast, stepping into the fray. what do you make of what he said? >> in my cnn.com blog, i say we have got to get some place why violence and gun violence is not a solution for all of our issues and conflicts. i do think, you know, there is something wrong when we had over a million people killed in our country since bobby kennedy and dr. king were assassinated by guns in 1968, you know, i think we need to have tougher gun laws. i do think, you know there needs to be better security for the athletes. i've counseled a number of athletes who i cannot name, but said the reason why they carry guns is because they fear for their own safety. >> the athletes themselves. >> yeah, but the problem is when they turn around and use these weapons as rae carruth did, or

jovan belcher just did, they use it on their intimate partners, it becomes an act of domestic violence. that's not acceptable. >> i'm glad we had the conversation. i want to push everyone to your piece, go to cnn.com/opinion and perhaps kevin powell, perhaps, congress is listening. thank you. >> thank you. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind.

it is the news royal watchers all over the world has been waiting for. england's prince william and his wife duchess of cambridge catherine are expecting their first child. she apparently is not feeling so great. she's been admitted to the hospital with severe morning sickness. mark saunders is in london for us. and, mark, obviously, want to ask you how she's doing, but, first, i have to get you to just clear this up because i did a

heck of a lot of homework, for the diamond jubilee this year, i remember reading the rules did in fact change this year that in terms of, know, if they have a little girl as their first child, she will undeniably become the queen. is that correct? >> no, i don't think that's entirely correct. i don't think the rules have been changed yet. i think -- >> yet. >> they will be changed, yes. as you know, the first in line -- if it is a boy, a male heir, if they have a boy, he would be first in line. but if it was a female, she would give way to any males that were born after her. but that rule -- i think i'm right in saying it would have to be an act of parliament to change it. and it would just go through uncontested because the vast majority of people in this country, the queen herself wants it introduced, but we're still assuming that it might be a girl. it might be a boy and we won't have to worry about it until the next time. >> did the palace give any word as far as a due date is

concerned? >> no. remember, the palace have been caught short a bit here. they weren't expected to make an announcement at all. it is only because catherine was taken into hospital suffering from what we now know to be acute morning sickness. had that -- they knew that they would never be able to keep that a secret. so they preempted the newspapers, i suppose, by making the announcement. but it's less than 12 weeks, we're told, but that's really all we know at the moment. >> less than 12 weeks. how has the news been received where you are? >> just absolutely marvelous. you remember what it was like during the summer. the royal family in this country are just -- they are currently the biggest stars. and it's just what we needed really. could have ended this year. the queen's celebration of her diamond jubilee was tremendous. then we had the most amazing olympics. and now just to round the year off comes this announcement. it is right up there with the queen and james bond this one. >> it has been a tremendous year

for the uk. but i remember being in london over the summer and i had conversation where people were saying, despite the fact, of course, william and catherine were in love and were to be married, certainly behind closed palace doors, you know, they would have had to make sure -- made sure she could conceive, correct? >> yes, absolutely correct. i mean, not just one. we need an heir and a spare. so she needs another one as -- >> an heir and a spare. >> an heir and a spare. i don't know how harry will be feeling tonight, because that's it, he's been shunted back further down the line. it seems to get better and better. they are now senior members of the royal family, william and catherine. and once again, proven they're the ones that are going to lead the royal family into this -- over the next lord knows how many years. >> huge congratulations, of course, to them. save me a commemorative coffee

mug, mark saunders. if i were harry, i would think pressure off. mark saunders, thank you so much for us there in london. huge news. just in to cnn here on -- getting some disturbing news on syria. u.s. official is telling us syrian forces have started combining chemicals that would be used to make deadly gas in attacks against civilians. more on this in just a moment. ♪ you can stay in and like something... ♪ [ car alarm deactivates ] ♪ ...or you can get out there with your family and actually like something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. offeit's part of what you slove about her.essing. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use

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new york governor andrew cuomo is calling on friends in high places today in hopes of getting more disaster aid for

his state. we caught a glimpse of the governor entering the white house a short time ago heading in to meet with the president. governor cuomo said new york needs more than $40 billion to help clean up the damage caused by superstorm sandy and then potentially to prepare for future storms. at least 49 elementary school students and adults had to be rushed to an atlanta hospital today because of a carbon monoxide leak. here is the thing. firefighters discovered the highest levels they have ever recorded of the deadly gas near the school's furnace. listen to the firefighter. >> obviously with carbon monoxide, the danger is going to be an affix ant, it could stop people from breathing. these children have been in the classroom since 7:30. our readings in the classroom were not quite as high as our reading at 1700 was near the actual furnace area. >> want to bring in george howell here. you brought in what i can only presume is a carbon monoxide detector. tell me about it and were there any of these in the school?

>> this say professional carbon monoxide detector. this is what we use here at the cnn center. this will run you a couple thousand dollars. couple thousand of dollars for this. it is important to check. but for your home, $17. $17 is all it takes to get one of these in your home, to monitor for carbon monoxide. we checked around also. in the state of illinois, it is required in all schools. in the city of new york, all schools had these, but in the city of atlanta, it is not required to have these carbon monoxide detectors in schools. we were surprised by this. >> so not required, thus meaning there were none. >> there were none. a surprise to us, but a shock to these parents, brooke. and imagine, you know, they found out their kids were in this school, with levels at 1700 parts per million, that is the highest level, as you mentioned, that this fire department has seen in the city of atlanta. and you can imagine the scare. take a listen to this parent, just after she learned what

happ happened. >> it is unorganized because these folks know these children -- they aren't doing anything about it. one baby in the hospital, he telling her to go get in line to sign the paper. that is not right. >> my baby is at the hospital. she already has bronchitis and asthma and i told him that. they wouldn't check for me or nothing. >> look, you know, all this happens, certainly not through a carbon monoxide detector but teachers and parents in the school, they all started to feel sick. someone in the school called an emergency crews they got there and they realized theres with a big problem in the school, they rushed everyone out, some 500 people. and they evaluated everyone. we know that at least 49 people were rushed to the hospital, five adults, 44 kids. and so far from what we understand, the kids are doing okay. >> i would be furious as well as those mothers were. george howell, thank you. i want to break away from this. gee we're getting breaks news on syria. straight to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr,

for new details here as we're talking about, you know, potential chemical weaponry. now not only talking about it, not only existing in syria, but the fact you're hearing from a u.s. official it is being nixed. tell me what you know. >> now we know what is going on. over the weekend, the u.s. got intelligence that syrian forces were beginning to start mixing chemical agents. essentially putting two chemicals together that would allow them to make deadly sarin gas. this is extremely serious news regarding the war in syria because until now there has not been that mixing together, the next step would be to put that deadly sarin into artillery shells. the u.s. believes, brooke, that the assad regime is looking at the possibility of some kind of limited chemical artillery strike on its own people, on rebel forces. officials tell us they hasten to add they don't believe assad --

bashar al assad has made the final decision to go ahead with a strike, but that that's what these preparations could be aimed towards and they also acknowledge they honestly just don't know what he's up to, a lot of diplomacy behind the scenes. we saw hillary clinton come out in public earlier today and, again, warned the syrian regime not to do this. this is a very serious development. until now we have not seen this step with syria's chemical companies stockpile. brooke? >> it is a tremendous development and we'll wait to see what the u.s. response is, be it verbal or an action. barbara starr, thank you. we'll have much more with hala gorani momentarily. we're at the top of the hour. i'm brooke more breaking news here from capitol hill, 29 days until the fiscal cliff hit and we're now hearing it sounds like from republicans dana bash, our senior congressional correspondent, live for me, right now on capitol hill.

what have you learned? >> reporter: that's right, brooke. we have breaking news. the house republicans have sent at this time a letter to the president with what they're calling a bold counterproposal. we'll leave it to others to decide whether or not that is the case. but the speaker himself came in to talk to a group of reporters who were gathered to get some details on this, and the speaker said that he thinks that this is, in his words, a credible offer, one that he hopes the white house takes seriously. and one that the white house responds to quickly. now, what is the offer? we have some specifics so we can give our viewers and i'm sure there are people out there watching this very, very closely, because the fiscal cliff is so close. first of all, they claim that what their plan would do would save $2.2 trillion. the key here, though, is we know that the big divide has been over those bush era tax rates. the white house wanting to extend -- excuse me, extend only

for the middle class, the republicans saying all of them, they're still sticking with that, the republicans saying they still want to extend all bush era tax cuts, so right there, we have a -- still have a divide. let me keep going on what some of the other proposals are here. $800 billion in savings from what they call tax reform, closing loopholes, changing deductions, things like that. about $600 billion in spending cuts, mandatory and discretionary spending. and also health savings. i call it health savings, $600 billion for that. that includes medicare savings. they didn't have a lot of specifics but certainly reminded us that republican proposals in the past had been to increase the eligibility age to means test medicare, things like that. then also something that say little bit controversial, but certainly has been discussed up here, saving $200 billion to revise the consumer price index, it is technical, but affects people's lives because it could change the amount of money that

social security recipients in particular will get every year because it depends on inflation. so those are some of the keys. the interesting political move here, many of them, but one key thing is that this is something that was proposed initially by a democrat. erskine bowles. we know his name because we have heard bowles/simpson so often. this is not part of the official bowles/simpson plan, but something that erskine bowles who again was the democratic chief of staff for the democratic president, bill clint clinton, which is why the republicans wanted to put this forward, he proposed this back in november of last year, testified before a committee here. and he said that this is generally the plan that should go in place. so what these republicans aides who briefed us on this are saying is they decided not to go ahead and respond to the white house offer, which they brought up last week and, remember, republicans said was not serious. instead of responding to that with what republicans have long pushed, for example, the paul ryan budget, they decided to go

with this, which is in the words of one staffer, a plan that everybody detests. so they want to start with a framework that nobody likes because that way they each side will maybe be able to give a little bit more. this is definitely a big move, because the republicans are -- democrats said the ball was in their court. they obviously agreed. they're sending a proposal back to the president right now. >> message received. let me give you a moment to catch your breath and thank you as we're hearing stand by. we're getting this counterproposal, if you will, from republicans and as dana points out, initially it was an idea from a democrat, from erskine bowles who recently met with the president. so we now have the plan from the white house. we now have the counterplan from the republicans and perhaps in a matter of days they'll continue to meet in the middle. the really big sticking point when it comes to your tax and my taxes is the republicans want to extend the bush era tax cuts to everyone. not just the middle class, but the top 2%.

let's go reaction on this and keep the conversation going as we are, again, 29 days away from all of this hitting each and every one of us. the president, he's been getting advice, counsel from some of the country's ceos in this whole battle over the fiscal cliff. and alan mu llally is among the leaders here, the president and ceo of ford. so welcome, mr. mulally, nice to have you on. i promise we'll talk about the new lincoln, the lincoln 2.0 in a second. i don't know if you could hear our correspondent on little, we now have this sort of counterproposal from the republicans. i know you have, you know, met with the president. what do you make of the sticking point when it comes to the bush era tax cuts and the fiscal cliff? who should be pay be taxes. >> i wasn't able to hear your previous report, but i sure can tell you from, you know, being with the president recently, that i'm very encouraged by how

comprehensive everybody is and how they're trying to work together to address both the revenue side, but also in addition to the spending side. >> how do you mean, if i may, how you to mean comprehensive? >> meaning that it has got to cover all the different pieces on both the revenue and on the spending side. and the other piece about comprehensive to me is the fact it is not just about the make now, but everything in that package needs to address the further development of the business environment that allows economic development to occur. and so i'm very encouraged by that. i think we're going to come together for the good of economic development of our country. >> let me try to pin you down a little bit more, specifically, alan, because another ceo, lloyd blankfine, head of goldman sachs, met with the president, part of the group last week, meaning with the president, he said this, think if that's what it took to make the math work, you look at entitlement side and the revenue side, i would not

preclude that. how would you feel if, when you hear from the white house, they just want to extend the bush era tax cuts to the middle class, and tax the top 2%, how does that sit with you? >> well, i think the tax cuts are whgoing to be one -- part o the solution. i think what is encouraging about what you just have shared is the fact that everything is on the table. clearly our real dwogoal here io come up with a plan that moves us to the budget deficit and to reduce the debt. we need to deal on the revenue side, many vehicles there, to use, and we also need to deal with the expense side. i think it is crafting a solution on both of those that is going to allow us to find a solution. >> all on the table and hopefully they will work and sort of meet in the middle and find that compromise. let's -- >> actually, this is the enabler for economic development in the united states. this is absolutely important we do this.

>> i want to ask you about that, in just a moment. let's talk cars. i know you are relaunching the lincoln -- >> please. >> yes, we will. the lincoln brand, making it part of the lincoln motor company, buying a super bowl ad, putting lincoln in the commercials. when you look at this new car, i have to be honest, this is not my grandfather's lincoln. >> there you go. >> this is a new lincoln. was that the point? >> absolutely. and it is just -- it is absolutely the main point because, you know, the lincoln motor company has been associated with the ford motor company for over 90 years. and it is known for elegant design, with interior and external, also the enabling technology, the innovation, the surprise and delight to ride in the field. and, of course in ford's case, we had purchased astin martin and jaguar and volvo and we spent less in the lincoln brand.

now our brand promise is not only a complete family of best in class fords, but also a complete family of luxury vehicles under the lincoln motor company brand. and the mkz you're seeing here today this is our first one, and will be revealing four more over the next few years, and the response to this vehicle has been just tremendous. >> what is your favorite part about it? pick one thing. what is the -- >> i love -- i love the styling. the external styling. it just looks so good. it is so simple. the inside, simple, easy to use, but the sunroof, a -- the largest sunroof ever in a vehicle is just absolutely smart design. >> alan, quickly on china, i know you're going to make a big push to sell lincolns in china, setting up this sort of all dealers network. does china loom larger for you because of what we have seen economically in europe and with the looming fiscal cliff? >> absolutely.

if you look at the markets worldwide and the economies and the auto industry, nearly a third of the market will be north and south america. a third will be europe and russia and africa. and about a third of the market will be asia pacific. and in china's case, to your point, china now has replaced the united states as the largest auto market. the chinese veitremendous respe for history. they know about henry ford and lincoln. so we'll be bringing the first lincoln vehicles to china in 2014. >> alan mulally, ford president and ceo. thank you for coming on. we appreciate it. >> thank you. now this. an infant left without her parents after an nfl player just snaps. and now as a city mourns, sportscaster bob costas goes off on gun control. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. if syria's chemical weapons are on the move, who's watching

them? and where do they end up? plus, as eight more people die in chicago -- >> we walk through a front door that was wide open. you can see the equipment is here. this was defunded by the program because they couldn't figure out what they had done with the money. >> -- cnn investigates the program getting cash to stop the violence. and he's on the run. but john mcafee talks to cnn after martin savaidge goes on this bizarre adventure to try to reach him. [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters? at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau

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oh, it's casual friday. oh. [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. this holiday season, competitive lessees can get a 2013 malibu ls for around $199 per month. big developments today in syria. secretary of state hillary clinton again warned syria against using chemical weapons. the syrian foreign ministry responding just hours later on state tv saying it would not use chemical weapons against its people if it had any. but now we're hearing syrian forces have begun combining. they're mixing the chemicals

here. u.s. official telling us a deadly mixture of sarin gas and may be used in weapons to attack rebel and civilian populations. this announcement as turkey is sending warplanes into its border with syria, after the syrian military bombed a nearby border town. the attack on this rebel stronghold fueling fears that more of syria's violence will spill into its neighbor to the north. the opposition says at least 90 people have been killed in fighting there today. the security concerns prompting the u.n. to announce it's pulling nonessential personnel now out of syria. cnn's international hala gorani joins me now here. the news is frightening becaus the white house talked about the fear of the chemical weapons. now tell me what we're learning as far as the mixture of these gases is concerned. >> well, the u.s. official who spoke to barbara starr is saying this goes yobeyond moving aroun

chemicals but if we have intelligence, it is a step further from what we thought was going on. so essentially the question is why would you start mixing chemicals if you had absolutely no intention of using it. so this is making many people nervous. not just the united states, but as you mentioned, turkey as well, which is asking natu inin deploy patriot missiles. conventional bombardment creates destruction and death. but the chemical weapon bombi i, potential bombing of areas could be a lot more lethal. turkey wants to make sure nato helps it protect itself against a potential chemical attack, and these chemicals could be loaded into artillery shells and when they land, then you the potential for wide scale death and destruction. >> when i hear this, it soundii

another step. you get to secretary of state hillary clinton warning the u.s. was prepared to act if syria used chemical weapons if they're using them, so then what -- run through possible scenarios for me? >> well, the u.s. always said its red line is the use of chemical weapons. and of course you can imagine that people at the state department and other agencies in washington are very much looking into whether or not syria is simply moving stockpiles around, or preparing for some sort of use. if syria indeed, which is saying it's not going to do, uses the weapons out of desperation, because here you have some rebel strongholds that is not bowing to the syrian regime, despite the fact that it is repeatedly conventionally bombed. when you reach a level where there is desperation for a regime that feels everything around it is crumbling, the question is what will it use in order to try in some desperate last ditch measure to protect itself.

that is the concern. the u.s. has always said this is a concern because it is not just within the borders of syria, that it is a problem, but regionally as well. >> so those are multiple concerns. then you the news today about the defection. who defected? >> we don't know he defected. here is a -- here is a man i've spoken to over the last 18 plus months since the beginning of this crisis in syria. his name is jihad mcducy. we have pictures of him. he is the former foreign ministry spokesperson. this would constitute a high level defection within the sort of higher ranks of the syrian government. >> which would be very significant. >> which would be very significant. here is why there is a bit of confusion. a spokesperson for the national coalition has told cnn we can confirm he left syria, we know that, where he's going we don't know, they don't consider him a defector, there are reports that -- this would be the opposition saying we don't consider him a defector because, you know, we still think he's somehow aligned the regime.

we'll know soon enough because the reports are he traveled to london through beirut. so we don't know. did he leveeia the road from damascus to beirut and then take a flight to london? he has some connections there? we're going to see. but it would be a pretty significant defection if indeed it is one and i think we'll know soon enough. >> hala gorani, thank you. >> sure. and this just in, we're hearing what mitt romney will be doing in the future. we'll tell you about his new gig. plus, more on our breaking news from capitol hill now getting that counteroffer from republicans to the white house, their initial starting point plan when it comes to the fiscal cliff. le announcer ] red lobster's hitting the streets to tell real people about our new 15 under $15 menu. oh my goodness! oh my gosh, this looks amazing! [ male announcer ] our new maine stays! 15 entrees under $15, seafood, chicken and more! oo! the tilapia with roasted vegetables! i'm actually looking at the wood grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce. that pork chop was great! no more fast food friday's! we're going to go to red lobster. yep. [ male announcer ] come try our new menu

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quick update for you on former republican presidential hopeful mitt romney. we are now learning it looks like he's getting back to business. we just got word just last hour that mitt romney will be rejoining the board of directors at hotel chain marriott. he's been on the board two times before. stepping aside to make his runs for massachusetts governor and for the presidency. we also got some breaking news, courtesy of our senior congressional correspondent dana

bash here. we know that the white house, i believe it was last thursday, presented their initial offering on the solution here to the fiscal cliff. we now know that we're 29 days away before the massive spending cuts and tax increases go into effect automatically the beginning of the year. the white house presented their plan and now just today we're getting news on the side of the republicans. ali velshi, chief business correspondent, let me bring you in. the first major difference, let's be crystal clear and run through this proposition, the fact that they want to extend the bush era tax cuts for everybody. >> right. something that some 67% of americans said that they don't agree with, something the white house says is a nonstarter. however, they have put a proposal forward. i suppose if you're negotiating, you don't put first proposal forward, the one you're going to end up with. this is from house speaker john boehner in a 2 1/2 page letter to the president, it proposes $2.2 trillion in cuts.

and let me show you how they get there. $800 billion in tax reform. that is closing loopholes and credits. $600 billion in health care and medicare changes. $300 billion in other mandatory savings. $300 billion in discretionary savings. that's things that are not mandatory. these are the big birds and the amtraks and the mortgage credits, whatever, things like that. $200 billion in revised requirements for programs, that's the cpi, the number of federal programs are tied to inflation. now, here's the thing, brooke. they do not include the tax cuts as you said. and the good news is there are two proposals now. competing proposals so they can try and hash it out, they won't do that in the media. the bad news is you and me, we could have come up with this. the issue is not the numbers. we can find $2.2 trillion or $1.6 trillion or whatever you need. it is what's in the cuts. all the low hanging fruit is gone. there is no more easy cuts to

make. now it is going to hurt. it is going to be amtrak or public television or it is going to be the mortgage tax deduction or 401(k)s. so where it is going to -- where the rubber hits the road is when we can say, look, the $300 billion in discretionary savings what savings are those? if they can get down to the fact that they'll sit around the table and discuss these things, not going to end up the way it looks on the screen not going to end goup heing ahead without tax increases for the rich. that's for all intents and purposes a done deal at this point. there may be some basis for a framework for discussions. they have got two proposals on the table. >> that is the silver lining, i suppose. you make a great point. you don't just walk up to bat, right, ready to give your best possible proposal, so one side is here, one side is here and hopefully they inch toward the middle. ali velshi, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> see you in a few minutes. tens of millions of that dollars poured into chicago communities to reduce crime as part of the program launched by the state's governor here. so why are the murders onthe

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eight more people were killed in chicago just over this past weekend. bringing the total number of murders there this year to 484. that is more than the number of coalition troops killed while serving in afghanistan during the exact same period. chicago is in a very real sense a war zone. two years ago the governor there, governor pat quinn, launched this ambition anti-violent program. on paper, sounded like a great idea. but a cnn investigation found serious questions about whether this was about crime prevention or politics. here is cnn investigative correspondent drew griffin. >> reporter: hello?

hello? anybody here? this is one of the community organizing groups hired to help reduce violence in chicago. part of a $54.5 million initiative governor pat quinn's neighborhood recovery initiative or nri, rolled out just before his contentious 2010 election. this group called the woodlawn organization got $1.2 million. so this is all that's left of the woodlawn organization. we walked through a front door that was wide open, you can see the equipment is here. this was defunded by the program because they couldn't figure up what they had done with the money. it was one of 160 community, church and civic groups that got the nri money from the state. now, most of the money has run out. homicides are up. and questions are being raised about just what the nri was really for.

to cut crime or save an election? what we do know is the money was spread out on chicago's south and southwest sides. the idea, get communities involved to stop the violence. >> nri! >> reporter: how? on this chilly afternoon, teenagers across chicago's south side are paid to hand out flyers. >> you have a nice day, sir. >> reporter: -- and spread a message of nonviolence. the nri is credited with creating about 3500 temporary jobs. mentoring youth and parents, providing re-entry services and counseling in schools. but our four-month investigation found the jobs not only included handing out those flyers, but also attending yoga class, taking mu zam field trips, even marching with the governor in a parade. the jobs are now gone. cnn has taken an extensive look at where the money went, what it did, and most importantly the

timing of how the program was rolled out. the neighborhood recovery initiative began sending money to tough neighborhoods in the city of chicago, right before chicago voters went to the polls. according to these minutes from a state meeting, a member of the governor's staff promised, quote, allocating some of the funds for this initiative immediately, the rest after the election. >> i'm happy to say i'm always honest. >> reporter: in october 2010, then lieutenant governor pat quinn was struggling to be elected to the job he assumed after former governor rod blagojevich was removed from office for corruption and misconduct. quinn, a democrat, needed a huge turnout in chicago's heavily democratic districts on the south side. that's where critics say the nri money ended up. the governor won that election by less than 1 percentage point. but the results on reducing

crime? so far there has been 484 murders this year, up 21% from 2011. >> on its face it appears to be a waste. >> reporter: illinois republican state senator matt murphy. >> about a month before the election, at a time when reports everywhere were showing a diminished interest in the election, in the governor's base, and lo and behold here he comes with a new state program and millions of dollars to get people interested. >> a lot of baloney. you know, they know that. matter of fact, people make those charges are running against me. it is all politics. >> reporter: in an early november interview, governor quinn insisted to cnn the murder rate was so high in the summer of 2010, he had to do something. >> the city of chicago is the third lafrrgest city in america. i live in chicago. i live in a violent neighborhood. i know firsthand you better -- government do something about the violence, because that's what the people want. >> reporter: but the murder rate is up 25%.

are you saying the murder rate would be up 30%, 35% without this program? >> you take it one year at a time and try and evaluate the programs and find out what is working, what isn't working so well, and you focus on the things that work well. but you don't just say we're not going to do anything. >> reporter: even a member of quinn's own party, though, thaddeus jones, has questions. asking where are the audits, administration costs, and oversight of the many organizations? we can show you what the neighborhood recovery initiative did that is proof, say organizers, the money was well spent. teaching teens to change behaviors. and for $ $8.75 an hour this is how they work to stop the murder rate. >> how do you deal with stress? >> my topic this month is how to stay healthy? >> reporter: yes, the state confirmed, part of promoting

positive messages included paying teens to march with the governor in the annual budd billikin parade. is in the type of thing you think leads to long-term employment or long-term reduction in violence? >> it is another way of providing welfare. >> reporter: the director of one of the agencies that received more than $2 million concedes nri was rushed out without much of a plan. >> actually the -- there was a fast and furious nature to it. there was a -- certainly from the time that the governor who is running for re-election announced it, to the time frames to actually put the money in the community. >> reporter: mike shaffer says the program, modeled in part after a now defunct philadelphia initiative, did hand out a lot of money, but spent little time determining if it was effective. >> i have not seen anything that has been produced by the illinois violent prevention authority that would make a compelling case that this array

of programs based upon the model in philadelphia worked. >> reporter: as we began asking questions of agencies who got the money, we have been getting more and more no comments. you can't talk? and remember the woodlawn organization which received $1.2 million? anybody here? hello? the leader of that group isn't talking either. and audit by the state agency that ran the program could explain the silence. the state found questionable expenses, a lack of clear accounting, a $10,700 check written to a part time staff member supposedly to pay a utility bill that they didn't prove was paid. the state shut down all funding for the organization. the group's attorney tells cnn all documents will be provided to show it did nothing wrong. i want to get back to the point of did this program work, governor? as well intentioned as it was, did it work? >> yes, it did. it did work. if it saves one life, it worked. >> reporter: chicago remains on track to approach 500 murders

this year. >> drew griffin joins me now. wow, i just can't believe you could walk in there and you said you saw the piles and pilz es o bills. the superintendent is defending his department. he's saying when you look at the murder rate, it dropped over a couple of months. how did it change? >> first of all, he's accurate. earlier this year, if you can believe it, the murder rate was up 66% at one time. what he did was he put more cops on street, he started arresting gang members, and tearing down vacant buildings. that strategy of focusing on the bad guys has helped bring down the pace of the murders, but as we have reported, it is still 21% higher than last year, than -- this year than last year and last year was bad. >> what about the program? is it done? >> the program is not done. it is surviving minimal cash involved and they say they're going to really look at what they're doing, any kind of employment is not going to involve handing out flyers. it will be more traditional employment. >> no more yoga classes.

drew griffin, four-month investigation, thank you. appreciate it. corporate profits hitting a record high while the wages of americans are plummeting to a record low. why is this happening? ali velshi is keeping a watch on your money. and the republicans' counterproposal on the fiscal cliff. stay right here.

i'm ali velshi. this is your money. house speaker john boehner called white house efforts to make a deal preposterous. the republican counter we're hearing about which extends the bush tax cuts for everybody including the wealthiest americans won't get washington any closer to a deal. washington's reckless behavior is already having serious economic consequences. i'm going to show you how and make sure you understand the truth about that raising taxes would mean for the economy, but first, set aside the doom and gloom of the fiscal cliff for a moment, let's look at today's money menu. check out auto sales up big in

november. sales of gm cars were up 3.4%. ford saw a 6.5% jump in sales and chrysler shot up 14%. u.s. autos are on track to see their best sales month nationwide since february of 2008 as the big three continues to put the auto bailout in the rear view mirror. ford never took the bailout money from the government. what's sibehind the surge in au sales, no short cuts. the jobs outlook is looking better. access to finance is improving if you want to buy a car. you combine that with the increasing demand from folks who had put off buying a car in a down economy, now have earlier evidence of success in the u.s. auto industry. and fortunately u.s. manufacturing as a whole is telling a different story. it is another sign that washington has gone from being just simply benign to actually threatening the american economy. i've been warning you for months about the fiscal cliff, the economic storm of our own

making. today, we saw a report indicating that u.s. manufacturing essentially ground to a halt in november. one of the culprits was clearly the uncertainty for business that has been created by this fiscal cliff threat, orders for new goods are flat. factories are cutting workers. this can be fixed. it is reversible. but the signs are clear that the damage is being done. quite a different story by the way over in china where manufacturing output, which had been slowing, picked up in november. it had months of slowdown. now, back to washington. what are the chances that lawmakers in washington will act in time to avert the fiscal cliff? if you go by what both sides are saying right now, not great. >> what we're not going to do is extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. those cost a trillion dollars over ten years and there is no possibility that we're going to find a way to get our fiscal house in order without the tax rates going back up. >> nobody wants to go over the cliff.

that's why the day after the election i tried to speed this process up by making the concession to put revenues on the table. and it is unfortunate that the white house spent three weeks doing basically nothing. >> now, the republican counterproposal that we just heard about still includes those bush era tax cuts staying in place for everybody, which president obama has called a nonstarter. so what if we raised taxes a little bit? still be much lower than what americans paid just a generation ago. in 1980, the wealthiest americans paid a marginal tax rate of 70% of their income to uncle sam. now, tax reform under president reagan reduced that rate to 50% and in 1981, and closer to current levels in 1986. today, president obama wants to let the bush era tax cuts expire for wealthy americans only, taking up their marginal federal tax rate from 36% to 39.6%.

we're talking about a 3.6 percentage point uptick for households making more than $250,000 a year, only on every dollar they make above the $250,000 amount. starts 2 s at $251,000. it is on the money you make on the margin. now, while i totally agree every penny counts when it comes to your money, when you compare that to the taxes most americans paid out in past decades, when there was phenomenal economic growth, i don't get why republicans are screaming bloody murder about this 3.6%. what if we were all to chip in a little more. we need taxes, we need government programs, particularly the ones that use the scale and scope of government to get better deals and greater efficiency than the private enterprise can achieve. now, despite what you're being told, taxes as they stand are

not an impediment to our long-term economic growth. not getting a grip on government spending will be an impediment. the solution can be found by looking for smartly targeted spending cuts in conjunction with increased tax revenue. finally, we're setting record -- we're seeing record corporate profits in the third quarter. four years after the worst shock to the economy since the great depression. so, is that good news for workers' wages? the argument being more profits means more investments which leads to higher workers wages. that's not what is happening. according to a government report released yesterday, today actually, total worker wages fell as a percentage of the economy to a record low. look at these two charts. growth in jobs and wages has been slower than growth in corporate profits. one reason is that technology allows companies to produce more profitable goods with fewer workers. outsourcing is a part of this too. american companies can use cheaper overseas labor to make goods that are then imported and

sold in the united states. bottom line, record high corporate profits but record low wages. all right, take a look at -- tune in with your money. i'm ali velshi. take a look at your money on the weekends, saturday at 1:00 p.m. eastern and sunday at 3:00. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. sfx- "sounds of african drum and flute"

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new video from the white house. you'll see president obama meeting with the prime minister of bulgaria. take a look the. >> obviously there are very strong bonds between our two countries including many bulgarian americans in my hometown of chicago that reminds us of the strong people to people relationship between the united states and bulgaria. >> and just quickly, a couple of

reporters shouted some questions out after the president finished speaking on fiscal cliff. the president did not answer. an nfl player murders his girlfriend, kills himself, and leaves their infant daughter without a mom or a dad. as investigators are searching for the -- to answer the question why, could the chiefs, the football team he played for, be played for, be held accountable for jovan belcher's actions? we're on the case with joey jackson next. ♪ ♪ ...could end with adding a close friend. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection.

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the question on everyone's mind today is why, why did kansas city chiefs linebacker jovan belcher shoot and kill his girlfriend and then kill himself outside the chiefs' practice facility on saturday? two people are dead. a little baby girl left without parents. his girlfriend's family just released this statement. quote, we appreciate the

outpouring of love and concern for our kasandra perkins. our hearts are truly broken for kasi, she was a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, mother, cousin and friend. i want to bring in defense attorney joey jackson. horrible story. >> it is, brooke. >> i keep thinking of the little girl. that's all i think about. >> who lost a mother and a father. >> when you think about the legal angle of this case, there's no criminal prosecution. but could there be a civil case? >> potentially there could be. as you mentioned, there's no criminal prosecution. why? because he took her life and his own. there would be very little to prosecute unless they looked at where he got the gun. it was a legally owned gun. so the prosecution would not be there. what you then look at is a civil liability and if so, who would be spoblt? it would seem the family of the descendant in this case could

pursue what's called a wrongful death action against him or his estate, actually, for this tragic loss. and that loss would mean that he took her life, it was an intentional act. they'd have to establish that. they'd have to establish that at his hands as a direct result of his conduct, she was dead and her family has been damaged as a result. >> what about the team? what about the kansas city chiefs, possibly the nfl? could there be a case there? >> the only issue with that is there's a standard saying in civil laws that says the risk perceived is the duty defined. what does that mean? it means what's foreseeable, what can you and i foresee as likely, as possible. and in this particular case, what did the chiefs know? it seems to be a random act. seems to be a person who for whatever reasons, he was a great person and acted, i don't know, a fit of rage. reports out that it was traumatic brain injury.

so it would seem remote to hold the chiefs responsible unless they knew something that we don't know that they know. >> joey, thank you. >> pleasure. >> we'll be right back.

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big news. there is a royal baby on the way. england's prince william and his wife, catherine, expecting their first child. max foster is in london outside the hospital where the duchess is being treated for some pretty tough bout of morning sickness. how's she doing? >> reporter: she's doing okay, i think. prince william drove up with her. they're staying at the middletons' family home today. they were clearly concerned. he's just left the hospital. does suggest they're not overly concerned. palace sources are not overly concerned. but there must have been a certain sense of concern because less than 12 weeks, she's in the hospital. this acute morning sickness can be extremely uncomfortable for anyone suffering from it. sh